Interest in the bow and its use has continued to grow over the years despite its obsolescence as a weapon of warfare, and notwithstanding the lessening importance of the bow as an implement relied upon to provide food for the archer. In this regard archery has evolved into a pastime for individuals, important objectives of which are to compete successfully with other individuals similarly interested, as well as to better the archer's own prior performance. With some archers, however, hunting continues to provide an incentive for developing a higher degree of shooting proficiency.
In any case, improvement in shooting accuracy, remains essential to the successful pursuit of the activity, as well as its enjoyment, and considerable effort is devoted by enthusiasts in continuing to develop archery skills, including the ability to correctly estimate windage and target distance, and in properly sighting and operating their bows.
In the past, enhancement of such personal physical skills was the primary way in which archers might hope to develop shooting proficiency. Increasingly, however, technology has become a factor of major importance in the attainment of superior shooting performance, and much effort has been devoted to its refinement. Such technology has, for example, resulted in the development of such things as peep sights, adjustable string knocks, mechanical release mechanisms, stabilizing arrow rests and cushion plungers, and other accessories too numerous to mention.
With respect to arrow rests, such devices are commonly attached to the handle of the bow where they function to provide vertical biasing for arrows placed on the rest during shooting. Temporary bending of the arrows in a vertical plane, due to forces imposed thereon by release of the bowstring during the act of launch, can thus be minimized, resulting in greater arrow stability and improved flight characteristics.
One such device, provided with adjustable biasing means, is described, for example, in co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 524,219, U.S. Pat. No. 5,144,937. The arrow rest of the invention there disclosed includes means for adjusting the degree of biasing applied to the arrow, and therefore, provides means for varying the amount of dampening to correspond to shooting conditions, arrow-type and similar variables. However, the arrow rest taught desirably relies on an auxiliary device, i.e., a "cushion plunger", to support the arrow laterally, and to apply adjustable transverse biasing to dampen the temporary bending of the arrow in a horizontal plane.
Still another arrow test is that described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,398,528. The device disclosed in that patent consist of two flat blades extending from anchor points on the arrow rest structure fastened to the bow. The tips of the blades support an arrow placed on the arrow rest both vertically and laterally. In addition, the blades possess a spring-like resiliency which serves as a biasing means to dampen the temporary distortions experienced by arrows shot over the arrow rest. A significant disadvantage of the device, however, resides in the fact that, at best, it is difficult to finely adjust the biasing forces generated by the device to modify shooting characteristics, and to adjust such forces without also changing the position of the blade tips on which the arrows are disposed.